Empty Sky
by LittleBlueNayru
Summary: Fill from the LJ Hetalia anonymous request base. Possible future China/America if I don't abandon this.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own APH, duh.

This is the beginning of an attempt to fill an LJ Anonymous APH meme request.. and attempt which will likely be aborted.

Request went something like this: Sometime in the near-ish future, China surpasses the U.S. as the world's top superpower and the U.S. fades from its international role. China generally likes being the one everyone looks up to, listens to, etc, even if it is a bit stressful. After a while he visits the States and comes across America, who lets him stay for a bit to unwind from the stress. China enjoys his time in the U.S. and finds an empathetic friend in America, and grows attached. Once he leaves, China becomes focused on bringing America back to more prominence in world affairs, sparking major concern. Does Chinamerica happen or no?

* * *

Prologue

Despite the boisterous, overbearing, and sometimes downright childish attitude of the United States, no one expected its decline from superpower status to go quite as… well, "smoothly" couldn't describe it, and neither could "catastrophically"… in any case, the nation had not left his world pedestal kicking and screaming which surprised – stunned – everyone. In fact, he had more or less dropped the mic on stage and walked off without any sort of forewarning, leaving momentary confusion, and then a scramble for said mic.

After several international crises in the last few decades, the public of the U.S. decided quite suddenly, and shockingly unanimously, that they no longer cared about the affairs of nations overseas. Sure, the States were a superpower when involved in international affairs, but many thought back to George Washington's words, to not meddle in global affairs, to maintain isolationism…

Within a cycle of elections, the government found itself populated by a collection of legislatures in all seats of power that worked with surprising bipartisanship to recall all troops from foreign shores, close almost every foreign military base, ease sanctions and embargoes, and more or less reduce every United States embassy and consulate in every foreign land to a formality. The nation himself began showing better manners at nations' meetings, speaking for his required time, listening to everyone else, and refraining from ordering others around or needlessly antagonizing others. That is, when he bothered to show up at all; domestic affairs suddenly consumed the nation's life, and many World Meetings went without the previously demanding presence of America. Friendlier nations felt a mixture of surprise and concern at the sudden change in demeanor; England insisted that a foul spirit must have possessed the nation, and once went overboard in his attempts to "exorcise" it. Other nations, however, only saw the States relinquishing the spot as top world power as an opportunity to fill the void, and a memorable scramble rapidly ensued.

China, of course, emerged victorious. With a strengthening economy, well-invested military, and rapidly-growing political influence, China quickly claimed the spot as world superpower. The States were still a force to be reckoned with, given their nuclear arsenal, but China had its own supplies, and interests to protect in Asia and on other continents.

To say the nation enjoyed his triumph would greatly understate his euphoria. A golden age had dawned on the immortal land once again, and China would do everything he could to make sure this one lasted long and brought permanent prosperity to his people. He went head-to-head against his main rivals in Asia and commanded foreign policy through the UN stretching across all seven continents. To command the former superpower, to read off proposals at the world meetings and have the United States acquiesce to them, whether by choice or by necessity, gave him a thrill. He enjoyed commanding the States' attention because he actually _commanded_ it. He enjoyed getting the better end of trade deals, policy agreements, diplomatic meetings with the North American nation. Success tasted so satisfyingly sweet. The only cloud to his silver lining was the lack of reaction the old superpower seemed to have to his fall. But that momentary disappointment faded as the years passed and China became the new status quo.

He was far too busy to worry about what the has-been thought; he had an international platform to manage.

* * *

So. That's a prologue. I don't actually have anything else written yet.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I still don't own APH.

Well I'm procrastinating with my work and it's a good snowy day to write some fanfiction, so why not?

Someone made note of this, so the "exorcism" line from the prologue is actually a shout-out to England's exorcism of America in my oneshot 37 Things to Do in an Elevator.

* * *

Chapter One

_"...And now we bring you the latest from the disputed territory of Kashmir, where heavy fighting between Pakistani and Indian military regiments has continued without pause for the better part of.."_

_"...This just in: Russian and Kazakhstani diplomats have signed a treaty which allows unprecedented cooperation between the two nations for the first time in years. This move may be seen as a challenge to the Chinese, who…"_

_"...Due to the famine which left several Southeastern Asian nations crippled, authoritarian regimes sprouted up in vulnerable areas, fueled by the resentment of farmers and city residents alike. These dissidents, branded as terrorist cells by their respective governments, have formed a loose organization which has proclaimed that it will stop at nothing to dismantle the current seats of power in the region…"_

_"...Demonstrations in Hong Kong and Shanghai led to clashes with the police early this morning. Demanding greater income equality, the police say that the protesters turned violent, and claim that the tear gas used was purely in self-defense. So far over two hundred people have been admitted to hospitals, and two people were confirmed dead in these incidents…."_

_"...South Korea claims that it will no longer end its dual-country war exercises with Russia at the end of the month due to the incident with North Korea earlier this week, in which mortar fire landed on an unoccupied South Korean island. North Korea has issued repeated warnings to the South Korean government that…"_

_"- Riots in the territory formerly belonging to Tibet…"_

_"- Chinese government may view the new resolution of the European Union as overstepping…"_

_"- Terrorist attacks in rural provinces-"_

_"Trade agreements-"_

_"Military demonstrations-"_

Three television sets, several radio stations, an online news report, and a phone call with his boss. China can barely keep his head straight. He reaches for his cup of tea and finds it empty, and the headache slow grows unbearable.

He knew, when he decided to take up the mantle of superpower, that he would not find it easy or even the least enjoyable at times. Right now he wants to throw something at every single electronic device in the room. He wants all of the depressing news reports to shut up. He wants to unplug and go home and enjoy a delicious hot dinner with equally delicious tea and sleep for more than five hours before going back to work in the morning to talk about keeping North Korea in line and addressing Russia's deliberate advances on Kazakhstan and sending troops to crush the terrorist cells in his untamed western frontier.

But he can't. He has to deal with those things now, and then eat and sleep just enough to keep going tomorrow.

"Aiyah…" his boss wants to know what he thinks about the events he's had thirty seconds to read about. It's not like bosses have gone insane from not having their nation to rely on. China's government probably accounts for almost half of the GDP; the manpower it employs would make Russia himself faint. His boss can hold his own damn meetings, form his own stupid plans, write out his own lousy public addresses to these situations! China has a World Meeting tomorrow in Tokyo and he has to talk to half the nations before it even starts and… and…

And he's still in his office and the plane takes off in an hour.

"AIYAH!"

Thankfully his boss is so surprised that he actually remains silent while China yells into the phone not to bother him for at least 45 minutes, and he fails to recover before China hangs up the phone, stuffs all the papers on his desk into his briefcase (it bulges slightly), throws on his coat and dashes out the door. He left his suitcase down behind the front desk of the government building with standing orders to the staff to be ready for his mad dash. He's missed enough deadlines throughout his decade or so as a superpower to know what he will overlook. True to form, several employees have his suitcase ready, his carry-on bag packed, a snack prepped, and they hand off their packages to China as they orient him. They even hailed him a taxi this time, one who was tipped handsomely to gun it (the tip even included enough money to cover the inevitable speeding fine he would get).

The drive goes smoothly enough; China can't relax with the driver weaving in and out of traffic at 130kph on inner-city streets, but the police don't start chasing the erratically weaving taxi until it reaches the exit for the airport. The driver grits his teeth and holds out until the very end, pulling over for both China and the cops only once they've reached the correct airport terminal. China makes a mental note of his name before he realizes that he's gotten a text from one of the secretaries telling him that the police have been contacted to go easy on him.

China proceeds into the airport carrying all the chaos of the taxi ride and just barely makes his plane. He turns off his phone, ignoring the ten calls from his boss, from the ambassador of North Korea, from Russia himself. No, he is going to get as much sleep as he can in his first-class plane seat and everyone else can go stick a wok up their asses if they have a problem.

He doesn't even make it through the flight attendant's explanation of the plane's safety features before he drifts off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

A chapter! Don't expect daily updates though. Life's way too busy to update daily.


	3. Chapter 2

Dislaimer: Just like when I updated maybe ten hours ago, I still don't own APH.

So, one thing I should point out is that I do biology, not policy. I want to try to be realistic about policy and possible issues that China could face while not being too specific or focusing too much on recent history, which would be our "present day", so I probably won't try to predict how our "current events" end, if to avoid stepping on toes if nothing else.

* * *

Chapter Two

South Korea nods in a way that makes it clear he doesn't actually give a damn about China's lecture. The immortal nation continues with his points, pretending that South Korea's eyes haven't glazed over and that he actually takes China's reassurances that North Korea will be dealt with seriously.

For some reason, the charade makes China pause. America had often seemed oblivious to the atmosphere as the lone superpower. Did he…?

_It's unimportant._

Finding that South Korea has taken advantage of China's momentary lapse in focus to flee to Japan for conversation, however, is. Whatever. China still has to stare down the major EU players, and Russia, and Saudi Arabia and his colleagues, and make sure that Somalia is actually complying with the terms on her side of the treaty. He glances at the clock. The meeting starts in twenty minutes.

China scans the room, aware of the fact that he has at least the partial attention of everyone else there. Of his targets, Somalia is both closest in proximity and the only one not engaged in small talk. He straightens himself both physically and mentally and heads over, ready to take down the first challenge of the day.

* * *

Japan gives the opening remarks as well as the first presentation. China, now hyper-aware of every presentation, thinks he detects some barbs at how Japanese technology is either superior to China's or marketed more. He files it away.

Russia goes next, outlining his new treaty with Kazakhstan. Open borders, cultural exchanges, financial aid, joint military exercises… hell, Russia might as well admit that he's trying to rebuild the Soviet Union and be done with it. China keeps his face neutral as Russia focuses all of his stupid little smile on him. Oh how he wishes he could take a carrot peeler and scrape it off slowly…

… America probably felt that way in the Cold War.

There's a momentary break between Russia's conclusion and the start of the next presentation, because it happens to be the unattended dossier sent by the United States Ambassador to Japan. China examines it curiously.

That's the second time in half an hour he's thought about this no-show, has-been, ex-superpower… China's wondering if he's becoming more like him. What is America doing, so consumed with his "domestic affairs" that he can't bother to show up for these meetings? It suddenly occurs to China that the nation's absentee behavior counts as almost ten years of shame… or snubbing. Hm. _Another_ issue to look into… the curiosity starts to fade as the irritation at this prospect takes its place. Nonetheless, any scolding will have to wait for another day. China gets up, takes the dossier, and decides to take care of two presentations back-to-back.

He doesn't realize how interested he suddenly is in the nation, even as he reads the contents of the dossier perfectly.

* * *

The hotel China makes his way back to at 10pm local time could be rated ten stars and he would still want his own bed in his own home. The hotel room has lavish furnishings and no personal touches. China washes with the best soaps and shaving creams available and has his pick of several world-class teas right in the hotel room, but all he wants are his chipped cups and stocks of personal amenities back in his Beijing apartment.

Two more days… he has to suffer through two more days of the still-developing African nations pressing him for advice about growing their economies, of the nations southeast of him requesting military aid to fight the terrorist organization threatening no less than three countries, of India and Pakistan going at each other's throats with no warning, of this, of that…

The high-end tea goes bitter in China's mouth and he loses all appetite for the remainder of his gourmet room-service meal. He sets aside the food, almost disgusted by all of it, and tries to get some sleep. The ghouls of the daytime's problems come back at him full force as he tries to soothe his mind, and it is only at 4am when he finally drifts off into some kind of meaningful slumber.

* * *

The briefcase China carries bulges once again. He has left the end of the Conference without so much as a single formality. That will come back to bite him, he knows; other nations want to speak with him and he should have nipped some problems in the bud, but damn. Damn that Germany, damn that European Union, damn that _goddamn Russia_ for trying to worm their way around him and "arrange a conference to promote European-Russian unilateralism in the hopes of a Russia-inclusive EU."

No. Russia and the EU together? A major power threat. Russia and the EU together? A gateway into Asian territory. Russia and the EU together? Absolutely, completely _unacceptable_. End of the line.

But China knows that no matter how big a problem that is, he cannot deal with it when he sees red just from thinking about it. He ignores South Korea's warning remarks to "keep North Korea in line." He ignores Afghanistan asking for military support in case Pakistan tries to get to India through him. He ignores the OPEC nations' threats to raise the price of oil.

He storms out, gathers his suitcase from the hotel room, and takes a shuttle straight to the nearest airport outside of Tokyo. He is ready for Beijing and if his boss so much as dares to order him back to work the second he walks through his door, then China might just end up in need of a new boss.

The airport is crowded, China gets jostled, his temper rises. He doesn't check to see whether or not he breaks the ticket-generating terminal after he punches in the flight number, and the airport attendant watching him takes one look at his professional attire and unprofessional attitude before deciding that intervention isn't worth it. If he causes problems, an armed security guard can deal with it.

But China manages to keep himself together, long enough to weave through the overly-crowded airport to his flight. He boards, stows his carry-on (after emptying it of valuable and sensitive artifacts, of course), and promptly shoves a pair of headphones into his ears. He ignores the flight attendants yet again. He watches the takeoff blankly. He eats an awful airline-processed meal, and wonders if he'll be able to get back to his apartment before nightfall, and wonders how much sleep he can cram into the flight before landing.

* * *

China wakes up and feels oddly rested. It takes him a few moments to realize that he has an urgent sense that something is wrong, and a few more moments to realize what that something is.

It is pitch black outside the plane.

China ignores the flight attendants pressing the first-class passengers to disembark and whips out his cell phone. It's the wee hours of the morning on… on…

On the day he boarded the plane.

_Fuck._

Numbly, he goes to get his carry-on and steps off the plane. He wracks his mind, trying to figure out what he did. Was it some error in the control tower? Did he select the wrong flight number at the ticket terminal? Did he miss his connection and keep going on the flight route? None of the other passengers seem surprised by the destination…

The airport unfolds as a mass of confusion before him, and it is only with the help of other, sympathetic passengers that China finds his way to baggage claim. His suitcase has arrived unharmed, the nation is glad to see, but after he wheels himself out of traffic and sits himself on a bench, he has no idea what to do.

Somehow, at three in the morning, he's found himself at San Francisco International Airport, United States of America.

* * *

HOORAY the story moves quickly. And HOORAY I wrote this chapter when I should have been reading more boring papers. Good stress relief. I still wouldn't expect daily updates though.

You know which airport I really hate? You guessed it, SFO. It's a really nice airport, clean, spacious, equipped with Ghiradelli chocolate... but confusing as fuck layout. Especially if you've woken up in Hawaii at 8am and just reached your flight at 1pm, crossed several time zones to get to SFO at... 10pm ish, only to find out that your connecting flight leaves in the next 20 minutes. What's also fun is sprinting through the wrong set of doors (got yelled at by an airport worker) and then going through the right doors only to collide with people trying to board the flight you just left, racing up the escalator across the airport to your connecting flight (and going down a set of stairs), and then discovering that Mother Nature left you a gift in the middle of it all...

That was definitely a fun trip home. Nah, I don't hate SFO but you really need to know the layout of the airport ahead of time.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I stiiiilll don't own APH.

Hooray again for quickly-moving plot.

* * *

Chapter Three

China can easily buy another ticket back to Beijing, board the flight, get some sleep, and be home in maybe half a day. Half a day's worth of lost time, yes, but a simple solution. But as China sits on the airport bench and the fatigue seeps into his bones, he realizes that he just doesn't _want_ to.

Nobody knows he is here (or at least, now that he's turned his phone off, no one knows). Right now, China exists in a sort of limbo where the Korea siblings and the Russia-EU conference and the India-Pakistan conflict and the African Economy Initiate don't matter at all. He has no obligations, while sitting on this bench, to argue with his boss, to attend meeting after meeting, to sign a thousand papers a day, to draw up drafts for everything from new laws to diplomatic letters…

He leans against the wall and heaves a heavy sigh. Knots of tension seem to unwind from his shoulders.

If China doesn't buy a return ticket to Beijing and get down to all the work he has to do, he will find his status as lone superpower threatened by the Russia-EU unilateralization conference, the OPEC gas price hike, the Pakistan-India war threatening to break out. But… would the world end? Would it really _matter_?

All nations have their time. He had many golden ages in his past. The world once revolved around Europe, on colonial empires, on mercantilism. The world kept turning, and the spotlight shone on America for a time. And now things came back full swing, giving China the chance to accumulate assets and maintain power for a time. The world had not ended before… would a break, would a de-stressing, therapeutic break really be so bad?

China snorted. He is over four thousand years old and knows what is best for him more than any boss he has ever had. He will take a break, damn it, and everyone else could wait on him, like the superpower he is. With that decided, he stands up and makes plans; first to secure a hotel room, and second to enjoy his California vacation…

* * *

The hotel he picks is nice; it's not in the thick of downtown San Francisco, but has a decent view of the hilly coastal city on clear days. China dislikes that he had to rent a car (and he rented it for two weeks, just because), but he has no plans to remain in the one city for all that time. America is almost as big as China, and even throughout the centuries of Chinese-American relations, there's no way he could have seen everything in the States.

China spends his first day of vacation sleeping, adjusting to local time. He wakes up around three in the morning and forces himself to sleep another three hours. Unsurprisingly, he is the first one down to breakfast in the hotel. "Continental Breakfast"... not a bad spread, but a strange idea. China decides that the next order of business is to sort through his business materials so he can get any headaches and depressing feelings out of the way before his little vacation. After selecting a very American breakfast (eggs, bacon, biscuit and gravy, fresh fruit, yogurt), he makes himself comfortable in a secure, reclusive corner of the hotel's dining room and reads through his meeting notes.

The Russia-EU conference promises to be every bit as challenging as China thought. Japan did indeed insult his technology industry during his presentation. Germany passed a resolution suggesting that all industrialized nations conform to the EU's - _Germany's_ \- environmental protection standards by the end of two years (how pretentious!). Somalia is indeed ignoring the part of her economic-development treaty with China that states that she is not to engage in trade with OPEC nations without prior Chinese review of the terms (It's for her own good, damn it!)

It's nine in the morning when most guests come down and enjoy their own breakfasts. China ignores the questioning gazes of the other guests and the hotel staff and powers through the rest of his documents. He makes to close his portfolio when he notices a small sheaf of papers.

_The United States World Meeting Agenda, 2033-06-12, Tokyo, Japan_

China blinks in confusion. He must have gathered the dossier with him when he collected his papers and hurried out of the meeting. He takes the sheaf and skims over it again, though he knows its contents by heart. It's America's own work, written more professionally and concisely than most of his work since... well.. since basically the 1970s.

Continued military exercises with no one except Canada... promotion of trade agreements with the Caribbean nations to boost their economies... experimental agriculture initiatives... infrastructure maintenance... social wellness campaigns... Each topic takes up less than a page and has clearly defined goals and methods. China relaxes just reading the paper, imagining he can hear the noisy nation's voice calmly reciting his agenda at a World Meeting... He hasn't attended one in person since... huh, 2030?

Reading over the neat and unobtrusive agenda makes China _miss_ America. At least absence made the heart grow fonder; if America showed up for a World Meeting China might have greeted him happily, but if America got on his nerves the warm feeling would quickly fade.

_America America America..._

America, who no longer leaves his borders except when absolutely necessary, will definitely know by now that he is here. China has the decency to feel guilty about his impromptu behavior. America would probably wonder why the superpower had barged into his house, if he meant ill... Would America come to confront him personally? China finds himself hoping he did.

He closes the briefcase and locks it before returning to and checking out of his hotel room. America can track his movements and find him (which China hopes he does) if he so chooses, and even if it is a bit rude to stop in on the country without forewarning, China still intends to enjoy his vacation.

First things first... sightseeing in San Francisco.

* * *

The current rankings of countries based on size places Russia as largest (obviously) and Canada as second-largest (though there's more people living in California than Canada, and most Canadians live within 100 miles of the border). China claims several disputed territories, but if those territories are counted as legitimate Chinese land, than China is just larger than the States. Since China is the superpower in this story, he'd have less trouble acquiring land, and he is thus now officially the third-largest country by land area. (Though in another fanfic, A China-America argument about _size_ due to the disputed territories would be hilarious.)

I also don't like continental breakfasts. Like, just what even are you? Buffet or bust.

The idea that China is growing African economies is actually based on some recent-ish news. I read an online article about how America has largely ignored trade potential with the African countries while China has been making strategic advances and growing relations.

And now... China gets to explore San Francisco! I've only visited twice myself, so don't expect any miracles.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own APH~

Wow, I've updated this thing five times in less than 24 hours. I either love this prompt or hate my current lab assignment to read a bunch of papers. Or both.

* * *

Chapter Four

Riding the streetcars of San Francisco while reading the little signs describing their historicity allows China to relax and let the breeze refresh him. It isn't long, however, before he tugs on a jacket; the wind off the ocean is cooler than he expected. China hops on and off the streetcars at random, taking in the city around him and deciphering the maps he collected from the hotel. He strolls down Lombard Street and hikes back up (No wonder they made the street so crooked; that hill was far too steep to take going straight down!). He watches students hurry to and fro around the university campus. He takes a ferry on the cold bay, listening to the historical lecture.

That's right… many of his people immigrated to the West Coast in a bygone era. Many Chinese families in America have stories of their ancestors coming to America for the first time and sailing underneath the distinctive Golden Gate Bridge. China watches, awestruck by the weight of history and magnificent architecture, as the ferry makes a circle to return to port, veering away from the mighty Pacific Ocean and turning back towards the Bay to repeat that iconic journey. He feels a wet prick on one of his cheeks and convinces himself that it is just salt spray.

He hopes America will show up. What did he think of those immigrants and the weight of their history? What does he think of them now that their descendants are almost entirely his?

The Fisherman's Wharf may not have the most high-end seafood dining in the world, but the restaurants there are full of honest men and authentic cuisine. China keeps to himself as he tucks into the (admittedly delicious) fresh catches and keeps an ear out for more typical tourist activities to indulge in. Tours to Alcatraz unfortunately book months in advance… he'll just have to suffer through another vacation sometime to make up for that. He grins at the thought. Still, he can visit the Ghirardelli chocolate shop that takes up basically an entire city block, or Angel Island, or AT&amp;T Park… Though he's in no rush to do everything, of course. He has two weeks to himself because his phone is staying off as much as possible and damn the consequences.

San Francisco has many sights, true, but China plans on visiting the rest of California. Where else could he go? He consults his guide from SFO. Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake, Lake Tahoe on the border, the coastline of Central California, Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, the sunny border with Mexico, a thousand small towns in between, historic Gold Rush sites… China wishes he had booked a month of vacation instead of two weeks, but even those two weeks push the envelope rather far.

He decides that Monterey looks like a good place to go, and then perhaps he'll work his way down south towards Yosemite. He might even camp a night, just to experience the outdoors again. After that he might work his way back to the coast, or keep going further south… He'll save some of the San Francisco sites for another time.

However, saving sites does not mean by a long shot that he'll pass up some high-quality chocolate.

* * *

Even with his maps and admittedly helpful city denizens (and here China thought of Americans as generally rude and unhelpful), the lack of a GPS makes getting to any destination more of a challenge than usual. The Nations really had come to rely on technology, where before a prominent star or a sundial or compass sufficed to direct them. China decides to bemoan the inner burial of his natural roots some other time and makes his way to the Ghirardelli chocolate factory. He stops to take some pictures of the walruses and sea lions barking at each other in the bay. He isn't familiar with their yearly cycles, but he wonders from the way some of the larger ones make to fight whether or not their mating season is in effect. One cocky passerby actually climbs down and gets within five feet of one of the larger walruses before said walrus gets antsy and territorial. China rolls his eyes. Stupid humans... one life to live and they spend it courting death via walrus.

The chocolate shop is every bit as impressive inside as it is outside. It triples in function as a historical factory-museum hybrid, a chocolate restaurant, and a chocolate shop. Hundreds of choices in types of chocolate with different fillings and flavors overwhelm China, and he remembers not to break the bank on this one store. He gets some chocolates that appeal to him, and after a moment's consideration selects a large bag of milk chocolate squares as well. He can never be too careful...

The shop gets so crowded that it actually takes much longer for China to go in, have a little tour and snack, and buy his chocolate than he anticipated. He almost considers returning to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner, but the temperature has dropped and walking to the piers and back will leave him colder than he'd like. Instead he opts for one of San Francisco's many cafes and gets a filling meal, even if it is not as satisfying as the fresh seafood from lunch.

Nighttime traffic is surprisingly tame as China makes his way back to his hotel. He passes nightclubs, parties, young adults hurrying to their apartments. The International House of Pancakes catches his eye, making him balk slightly. Who in the world wants pancakes for dinner? Only here... Odd country, this one.

Day two of his vacation leaves him quite exhausted. He wants to sink into bed the moment he returns to his hotel room, but the salt air on his clothes and body convince him to freshen up before going to sleep. China nearly falls asleep twice in the shower, with warm water pouring all over him. It feels so good to unwind, relax, and just not _think_ about anything for a little while...

Donning his only packed set of what could be called night-clothes, China brushes his teeth, turns off the bathroom fan and light, and heads back into the main hotel room.

It's pitch black. Just like the window of the plane.

China immediately goes on alert, but he is not overly concerned. He has over four thousand years of history and hundreds of wars under his belt, claims mastery over too many martial arts styles to recall, and happens to personify the current world superpower. Whoever got in here and turned off the light would get quite a nasty shock if they wanted to ambush him... But why be dramatic when China could simply... flick the light back on?

".. Aiyah!"

Sitting in the hotel room armchair, with a mug of coffee and a blank expression, is America.

* * *

Yay, chapter four and we finally see the other half of the possible pair. 'Bout time, you shitty host.

On my first trip to San Francisco, when I was a kid, my parents and I went on the ferry under the bridge and some of the Chinese passengers waved to the bridge as we went underneath it. Being about nine, I was more concerned about losing my glasses in the Bay.

Lombard Street is called the crookedest street in the world for good reason. The part of the hill on which it's situated is scary steep, hence that strip of road was paved to weave back and forth. The fancy houses stationed along it have a nice one-way brick road, well-kept gardens, and a whole lot of tourist traffic to deal with. I kinda wonder what their real estate is like.

Ghirardelli chocolate shop. Go there before you die. Also yes, reserve your Alcatraz tickets month in advance. It was an interesting trip.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own APH, but I do own a penchant for procrastination from bioinformatics work.

Yay America has appeared! Will there be drama?! Will there be cake?! Will I stop asking you inane questions?!

Also, I found the original request on the KinkMeme. Right now the original request is a little more than halfway down the page, request begins with "Anon wants a Possible-Future!Fic and Isolationist!America." Unfortunately, even though I've tried to put a link up here by breaking up the parts so ff accepts it, the dot-organization part of the link keeps breaking. I've already left a comment for OP, but if anyone wants the original link, just say so in a review.

* * *

Chapter Five

"America? What are you doing here?" China cringes slightly as America's face seems to go a little more deadpan.

"That's _United States_," he says, "and I think, given the fact that you are in _my_ country, which is separated from yours by the largest body of water on the planet, that _I_ have more of a right to ask _you_ what _you_ are doing here."

True. "Well, I wanted to ask-"

"But didn't, because?" Ame- _United States_ raises his eyebrow.

"Because my phone is off so no one calls me. I would have called you, but I keep all the phone numbers on my phone."

"Well, that explains why my three voice mails have gone unanswered," United States muses dryly. "But that doesn't answer my first question."

The momentary scare of Ameri- United States appearing in his hotel room wears off, and China feels the fatigue setting in again. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed and, after a moment's thought, flops down on it. He catches a flicker of surprise on the other country's face at the action.

"I'm tired, I'm stressed, and I'm sick of dealing with everyone at World Meetings!" China exclaims after a moment. "Everyone either wants to talk to me for favors or advice or something useless or wants to talk behind me and creep into alliances and start fights and put me in a bad position and it's so… ugh! It's so draining and tiring!" China gets tired just_ thinking_ about it.

".. So… you decided to take a vacation in my house… without asking or even telling me first." America's voice fills with resentment and unspoken accusation.

"No!" China actually sits up. "No, that was an accident. I thought I bought a ticket from Tokyo to Beijing. Apparently I got one from Tokyo to here instead. I was in a bad mood. Russia is trying to get cozy with the EU to undermine me, not to mention Kazakhstan, and speaking of 'stans, Pakistan and India are going to bring about nuclear Armageddon and Afghanistan wants me to do his military's job for him, and with that terrorist attack not only in Tibet but just outside of Hanoi thanks to that… whatever they're calling themselves right now, I don't have time to split my military! North Korea is trying to pick a fight with South Korea and I have to keep troops on my own northern borders at all times, Mongolia is useless for anything…"

He keeps ranting, more as his catharsis rather than his defense. It's in the middle of his complaints about how utterly useless Somalia is as a trading partner that he notices America watching him carefully. He doesn't look bored, or annoyed, or even jealous. He looks… understanding.

"Yeah, dude. Been there done that. I get it, you're stressed as fuck and sick of the suck-ups and Russia pissing you off and you turned your mistake into a serendipity. I still don't see why you couldn't have borrowed a phone to tell my people as much, though. You got me anxious for a few hours there."

"What do you mean?"

America rolls his eyes. "I sensed you when your plane landed. I figured you were on a connecting flight somewhere. As the hours passed I wondered if you had a layover. That was when I called you the first time. You didn't answer. I went to sleep, and when I woke up, you were still in the country. When I pinpointed you, you definitely weren't at the airport. I called again, no answer. So I finished what I was doing in D.C. and headed out here and called again, and then I finally tracked you to here."

Well. ".. Certainly a more generous time allotment than I would have given…" China murmurs.

Another eyeroll. "Well, I didn't think you were here to spy on me. Apparently you just wanted to relax."

China nods. "So… can I? Still stay for a couple of weeks, that is. I planned on driving around California."

For some reason America blinks in confusion, before shaking off whatever it was. "Bit late to be asking now, isn't it? You can stay for a while… on one condition."

"What is it?" What _isn't_ it? Obviously America wants to stick around as an escort-

"I'm hijacking your vacation."

"… Uh?"

"I. Am. Hijacking. Your. Vacation." America repeats slowly. He sets down his empty mug and procures a gigantic suitcase from behind the armchair. "I had a hunch that you'd finally cracked under all the pressure. Ya held out longer than me," he says good-naturedly. "Five years after the Cold War was over and I was getting myself in all sorts of situations, remember I disappeared to Hawaii for about a month?"

Now that he mentions it, China remembers…

"I'm cool with you taking a break, but I'm gonna be baby-sitting you," he continues, as though declaring that he will _babysit_ the world's superpower comes with no consequences whatsoever. Well, given the fact that China has basically crashed in his house without asking prior permission, the ancient nation decides that being babysat makes them even.

"I still want to get some work done, though, so I'd appreciate it if you could tell me places you want to go so I can make an itinerary and work them into my own list of things to do. Then we both win." The ex-superpower procures a tablet and pulls a stylus from a hidden compartment. "So, shoot. You got a place in mind, I'll take note of it and see what I can do."

This has taken a rather surreal turn. If this had happened to China, if their roles were reversed, China knows he would shout at the other nation to get out of his house until his voice went hoarse. America, while clearly not thrilled at having an unexpected guest, is much more accommodating and hospitable than China ever hoped. He doesn't know whether this is some elaborate set-up or not, but decides to save that question for the morning. Instead he makes himself comfortable on one of the beds while America makes himself comfortable on the other, and starts to talk about places in the States that he wants to see.

* * *

AN: I don't know how well I'm characterizing either nation here. Since America is no longer as important in global affairs and doesn't need to worry about security all the time, I figured that he would have become more relaxed as time went on. Not to a fault, but not needlessly prickly about "security breaches." On the flip side, I feel like I'm not making 4000+ year old China serious enough, that his complaining is out of character. But from what I gather from APH canon, he's not always a serious, composed wet blanket. In short, I'm trying to make China react to being superpower like any stressed-out, overworked, important statesman might (with the ever-fun bonus of personifying the entire nation to boot), and I'm trying to make America react like a nation that's realized not being on top isn't the end of the world and has become re-accustomed to the power shift.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: So it is, so it was. No APH ownership for me.

I freakin spoil you people. Though given that the weekend's over that's probably done for the week. Unless I turn out to have less work than I anticipate... unlikely.

* * *

Chapter Six

Clacking keyboard keys wake China up around 9:00 the next morning. He opens his eyes and gets a good view of America wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers, typing away on his laptop. It seems the isolationist had spent some time working out… _Enough_. China blinks sleep out of his eyes and forces himself to sit up. "Were you up all night?"

"Been up since seven. Coffee is love, coffee is life," America replies absently. "I only listed down the places you mentioned and actually made the schedule last night. Starting this morning I began enforcing the schedule. Hotel reservations, car rentals, emails to contacts, weather reports, phone calls to boss, blah blah blah."

China gathers his clothes and dresses in the bathroom. "You've done a lot…"

"Eh, not too much trouble. Helps that I have some connections. By the way, last night I had some guys swap your rental for one of the ones I keep stashed. It's a sturdier drive, there's a rifle in the trunk. I told my boss I had a guest of some importance. Plus we'll be doing some offroading anyway."

The ancient nation pauses, slightly touched. "I see you've become better about managing the details," he says, examining his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"Meh." China can almost see the nonchalant shrug. He walks out of the bathroom in daytime clothes only to find that America hasn't made a single move towards getting dressed. "I'm done in the bathroom if you want to get dressed."

"Oh, right!" America sets down the laptop on the nightstand. "Look over that unless you want to be surprised by what I got," he says as he fishes out a tee and jeans and hops over to the bathroom to shower.

China waits until he hears the water running before he moves closer to the laptop. Part of him wants to be surprised by this trip, but the other half wants to know what Ame- United States – has decided constitutes a good vacation itinerary. When America starts "singing" some hit pop song in the shower, China finally decides to read over the plan, just so he has something else to pay attention to.

When he finally reaches the bottom, he's more than a little surprised.

The vacation time is double what he wanted. America plans on taking him to Yosemite and Monterey, like he wanted, but he's added Muir Woods, Mono Lake, a drive down Central California's coast, the San Andreas Fault lines, part of the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Park. He's booked some expensive hotels and has a list of "pit stops" they can check out along their route. America has some of his own notes, too. China frowns as he reads over some of them. He wants to check with some volcanologists en route to Yellowstone, ask the Sacramento mayor about the "Rehousing Initiative" during the California drive, and send some plans to Central California about expanding their wave power plant complexes…

"So what do you think?"

Well, at least America managed to put on his jeans. For some reason, though, he decided to stroll out without his shirt on, hair glistening with water and a small towel wrapped around his shoulders. It's like he's trying to push China's buttons.

"You extended the trip?" China queries.

"Why not? If you think just two weeks will do you any good you haven't been a superpower long enough. Seven destinations would have left barely a day to enjoy any of them and you want to relax. I haven't had a chance to work while roadtripping in a while, too. I'm milking this just as much as you."

"… Thank you." China says quietly. He examines his hands, suddenly speechless as he realizes just how much effort America is putting into this trip for him. He had pressed this on America and his host seems willing, happy even, to go above and beyond for him, without any political expectations whatsoever. It hasn't been so long since China became the world's superpower that he can remember the friendships he used to have, now strained by his global diplomacies. This thing that America is doing for him… it touches him more than he expects.

He's startled by a pat on the back. "It's rough being at the top, isn't it?" The blond gives him a strange smile; sympathetic, slightly pained, and then pulls on his shirt. "Well, let's go down and pick some breakfast grabs, but not too much. I want to take you to an IHOP." It takes China a moment before he remembers the strange pancake places from the day before. Well, at least they'd be eating breakfast food for breakfast… "Okay, let's go," he says, gathering up all of his things. America hasn't really specified, but he doubts they'll be returning to the room.

As it turns out, America checks out of the room before they go to the breakfast spread. America takes an apple and a banana and China takes a small yogurt cup while America leads him to the nearest IHOP… which happened to be down the block. "Might as well get the car only when we're leaving," America shrugs.

The pancakes turn out more delicious than China expects, and the sheer number of choices leaves him speechless. Only America could come up with this many ways of making pancakes… and he probably still had more recipes up his sleeves. But America has more than recipes up his sleeves, and he springs their first destination on China as soon as he pays for their meal.

"Muir Woods! It's just across the bridge and it's not too bad a drive… well, except for the actual park entrance," America grins. "We should probably grab some water before we go, though. People don't visit for the amenities, that's for sure."

As they acquire bottled water and head to America's rental care, the blond prattles on about the woods. "They were named after John Muir, he's called the father of the National Parks," America says. "The sequoias can only be found from about here to south Oregon - nowhere else on Earth! And the redwoods are amazing. We have to walk this one trail in particular – there's a tree there that's super important to me!"

China continues to listen as America loads their luggage into the trunk and hops into the driver's seat. As they head for the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County on the opposite side, China notices the morning sun rising over the inland side of the bay, shining brightly on the water. His lips quirk into a smile as America continues talking about Muir's visionary work, and he feels his soul lift off the ground. So far, this vacation is off to a good start.

* * *

Yay! Bonding! I wonder if China's too interested...

In case you couldn't tell, I don't like IHOP. Yeah, I understand if there's a little speck of batter that didn't get cooked, but when I bite into my pancake and swallow down a whole mouthful of raw dough I'm going to hold that against the restaurant for a while.

Next chapter: Muir Woods! Which I can actually write about at some length!


End file.
